Archive for Civil Rights Movement

Jeannette Paulson Hereniko has always known the power of storytelling. During a troubled childhood, stories functioned as a source of comfort. In adulthood, she founded the Hawai‘i International Film Festival. Throughout her multifaceted life, Jeannette has blazed her own trail, working with unwavering vision and passion.

As a student at the University of Hawaii in the early 1960s, Sarah Keahi wanted to be an English teacher. But her Hawaiian language instructor, Dr. Samuel Elbert, saw a different path for her. “He said, ‘What about Hawaiian?’ And I said, ‘There were no schools teaching Hawaiian, you know,’” Keahi remembers. “And he looked at me, and he said, ‘There will be a day.’” Sarah Keahi went on to help establish a mandatory Hawaiian language curriculum at Kamehameha Schools, and taught Hawaiian language to generations of Kamehameha students.

“It takes a village to raise a child.” For Alice Greenwood, it’s a theme that repeats itself throughout her life. In this conversation with Leslie Wilcox, the Waianae community advocate talks about how a series of unforeseen events left her homeless for nine months. Through stories of illness, racism and squalor, Greenwood touches on themes of courage, determination and compassion.

Tuesday, January 21 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, January 22 at 11:00 pm
Sunday, January 26 at 4:00 pm

After hardships during the Great Depression and World War II, Takeshi Yoshihara became the first Japanese American appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy. In this conversation with Leslie Wilcox, Takeshi talks about what made him an unlikely Naval Academy candidate, and his journey through the ranks and, eventually, to Hawaii.

Tuesday, January 7 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, January 8 at 11:00 pm
Sunday, January 12 at 4:00 pm

In this edition of Long Story Short, Leslie Wilcox introduces us to Amy Agbayani, who oversees the University of Hawaii’s diversity programs. Dr. Agbayani came to Hawaii from her native Philippines to study at the East-West Center in the turbulent 1960’s. The antiwar protests of the era helped set the stage for Agbayani’s lifetime fight for civil rights and social justice.

Agbayani first found her calling helping her fellow Filipino immigrants adjust to life in Hawaii through a group called Operation Manong, which she co-founded 40 years ago. She soon broadened her efforts on behalf of other immigrants, women, and almost anyone needing a voice, becoming the first chair of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.

Over the years, Agbayani’s office at UH has expanded into one of the most comprehensive university diversity programs in the nation. She now oversees more than 20 programs to recruit and assist students who are diverse in terms of culture, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religion and sexual orientation.

As a 16-year-old, Minnijean Brown faced segregation and white supremacy. So when she and eight other students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957, they changed everything for African-Americans across the country. The Little Rock Nine, as they became known, were escorted into the school by U.S. Army troops sent in by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.And for months, they faced discrimination, taunting and even death threats on a daily basis.

Although one of the nine would graduate that year, with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in attendance, Minnijean would be expelled for facing up to her aggressors.

For the past fifty years, Minnijean Brown Trickey has continued to crusade for civil rights.And she shares stories with Leslie Wilcox in Part 2 of an engaging, two-part conversation.

In 1957, Minnijean Brown was a 16-year-old high school student in Little Rock, Arkansas – a young African-American growing up in the segregated South.She was one of nine students who enrolled in Little Rock Central High School, desegregating that school and all schools across America.

When the Little Rock Nine, as they would become known, entered the previously all-White school, they stepped over the threshold of the American Civil Rights Movement.

Fifty years later, Minnijean Brown Trickey continues to crusade for civil rights and she continues to educate people everywhere she meets.

Meet this fascinating and determined woman as she shares stories with Leslie Wilcox in Part 1 of a two-part conversation on Long Story Short.